HOW TO DECORATE FURNITURE WITH STENCILLING.
The idea of decorating your own furniture seems to be an extraordinary
thing to many readers, and yet I hope to show you that this much to be
desired consummation is quite within your reach. In the former article
I gave as an illustration a portion of a chiffonier I decorated with
stencilling, as can be seen by referring to it, which, by the way, is
reproduced from a full-size design which was actually stencilled with
the same stencils as I used on the chiffonier. Stencilling is a very
simple business indeed if you will take ordinary care. Indeed the mere
getting of an impression is a mechanical matter, as can be seen by the
way packers mark boxes with stencils of letters. The art is seen in the
way you colour the patterns and the use you make of your stencils, for
with some four or five stencil plates, as I shall hope to show later,
many combinations are possible; you can evolve new patterns as it were
by taking a portion of one and combining it with a portion of another.
[Illustration: _Fig. 1. Stencilled border of butterflies and sprigs
with background, suggested by a spider's web. For details see Figs. 1B
and 1C._]
[Illustration: _Fig. 1A. The right-hand half is white on black ground,
the reverse of the left-hand half. For details see Figs. 1B and 1C._]
[Illustration: _Fig. 1B._]
[Illustration: _Fig. 1C._]
Some years ago, I forget how many, I described in these pages how to
cut a stencil, but I had better for the sake of the newer readers very
briefly explain the method. Good drawing paper I generally use from
which to cut my stencils. Draw out your design upon the paper, and with
a sharp penknife cut on a sheet of glass, so that the knife travels
over the smooth surface and enables you to cut a quite intricate
design with ease. Have a small oil-stone at hand to keep the knife in
condition, for you ought to be able to cut clean without pressure.
If you refer to the designs accompanying these articles you will notice
that each form where it comes against another seems outlined in white.
This effect is caused by the "ties" as they are termed. If we consider
a moment we can realise that as our design is formed by the pieces we
cut away an intricate design must be tied together, or the whole thing
would fall to pieces. Take a simple case, the letter B. We must not
cut out the letter without adopting some plan to keep the two pieces
forming the loops in their place, so we tie them in so
[Illustration: B]
We put a second tie in the lower loop to strengthen it as I have done
in several cases among those designs given. Take another case, the
flower in Fig. 1C. By cutting each petal separate and the centre as a
circle we get a very effective stencil, for the "ties" give form to
the design. Take them away, and instead of a daisy we should only have
a circular open space of no interest. One of the arts of successful
stencil cutting is to make the "ties" form part of the design, and by
a little management this can be done. I don't wish to point to my own
work more than to say you can learn the method of stencil cutting by
referring to the designs I have given to illustrate the subject.
[Illustration: 2B]
"Ties" which are left to merely strengthen a design, and which
therefore do not help the effect, can be put in with a brush while the
colour is wet if it be thought desirable.
[Illustration: _Peacock-feather border. The complete impression is
given at 2, and requires the plates 2A and 2B to produce it._]
If by chance you cut through a "tie" while cutting your stencil or
break one when using it mend it with gummed paper or stamp edging. By
keeping your stencils in repair they will last you years and do any
amount of work. When the stencils are cut give them a good coat of
varnish back and front, and allow it to dry hard. This makes the paper
waterproof and greatly toughens it. "Knotting," which you can procure
at a good oil shop, does very well for this purpose, as it dries
quickly.
[Illustration: 4
_Repeating stencil of fish and arrow-head, with insects and water
lines. For cutting this stencil, see Figs. 4A and 4B._]
[Illustration: 4A
_Detail of Fig. 4._]
Those readers who prefer it can enlarge some of my designs and cut
them, but others may like to try and originate them for themselves,
so a word or two to them. Make your designs simple, and you mustn't
attempt foreshortening (that is, drawing in perspective), as you cannot
render such an effect in a stencil. A flat treatment is necessary,
as though the plant you take to found your design upon were pressed
between blotting-paper, like a dried specimen. You must not attempt to
be too natural. An ornamental treatment is more effective, and you want
to develop the decorative features in the plant you take, for you must
not think of drawing a flower or plant so much as making a design based
upon the particular plant.
[Illustration: 4B
_Detail of Fig. 4._]
Birds, insects, fish, can all be cut as stencils if you attend to
this ornamentalising which is necessary. The two flying birds, Figs.
5 and 6, are modelled on Japanese designs, and by a little management
very excellent effects can be produced. Butterflies too can be made
into very effective stencils, and in one case I have introduced a
background suggested by a spider's web, Fig. 1. By only using the
butterfly out of one plate and the web background out of the other we
obtain a third combination as in Fig. 1A.
In the case of the large butterfly, Fig. 1A, it will be noticed that
a pattern is stencilled on the wings, and to do this it is necessary
to have a second stencil, Fig. 1B. I give impressions of these two
stencils, Figs. 1A and 1B, so that you may see what is cut out in each
plate and how the two fit together. You cut some one or two details out
of both plates as a guide in placing them when in use, see Figs. 2,
which requires the two Plates A and B to produce it.
[Illustration: 5
_Flying bird in stencil, after the Japanese._]
[Illustration: 6
_Flying bird in stencil, after the Japanese._]
In cases of stencils which repeat so that spaces of any length may be
covered, it is necessary to cut a small portion of the next impression
out of the stencil and put this in, so that when you shift the
stencil on to take the next impression, the left side of your stencil
is placed over the right-hand side of the impression first taken. In
the butterfly referred to in Fig. 1, the tip of the left wing is cut
on the right-hand side of stencil, which is a guide for placing the
stencil when we shift it for our next impression. In Fig. 4 it will be
noticed that the nose of the fish is stencilled on the right-hand side
to show you, when you shift the stencil along, exactly where to place
it. In stencils requiring two plates to produce them, you draw out the
design and then arrange in your mind the portions you will cut out of
the first plate. When you have cut them stencil them on to the piece
of paper to form the second plate, and having drawn or transferred
the rest of the design to this second piece of paper you cut out the
rest of the pattern. By stencilling the first plate on to the second
plate you see how far to cut, for it is obvious that the two plates
should fit together like a puzzle and form one design. The object of
having two plates is that you can obtain an impression in two or more
colours. Thus in the butterfly design having stencilled the insects in
the first colour you can put on the markings and web-background in much
lighter colours. If the sprig is to be put in and you want it against
the web-background, you stencil this latter in first, and when dry the
sprigs upon it.
By cutting a design out of two plates you can get a much more elaborate
design and scheme of colour. The water in the arrow-head and fish
frieze, Fig. 4, is a case in point, for the water lines and flowers can
be in light tones of colour, while the fish and foliage are in darker
ones, and by this means relief is obtained.
Were the water lines cut out of the same plate as the foliage, it would
be impossible to keep them in a distinct colour and the design would
look confused. The stencil too would be very weak, as the "ties" would
have to be so numerous. This is a practical disadvantage, for if a
stencil is very weak it is apt to break all up while you are using it.
By the use of the two plates, Figs. 4A and 4B, we get two fairly strong
stencils.
(_To be continued._)
[Illustration]
THINGS IN SEASON, IN MARKET AND KITCHEN.
JANUARY.
BY LE MÉNAGÈRE.
This is one of the coldest, if not the coldest, months of the year;
the time when we most need to put on our thinking-cap in order to
provide such things as will best supply that extra consumption of fuel
that goes on in the human engine. Some starchy foods we must have and
a goodly proportion of fats and oils--more than at any other time of
the year. Now we find both these elements in grains and "pulse," peas,
beans, lentils, etc., and we can supply the necessary amount of fats
by good wholesome puddings that contain a little suet, and home-made
cakes, also in eating a fair amount of nuts.
For breakfast every morning we might begin with a plateful of Quaker
oats, "H. O.," or any other kind; these are splendid food, and however
small the portion, everybody would be the better for having some. Some
people like sugar with their porridge, but it is a fact that sugar does
not help the digestion of oaten food--rather retards it in fact.
Coffee is better for breakfast on winter mornings than tea, for all
who can take it: not because it is more nourishing, but because it
possesses staying qualities, and so is more satisfying.
Eggs, bacon, fish, or a well-cooked sausage should be ready to tempt
the appetite of the older members of the family, but a little stewed
fruit and brown bread and butter would be better than these for
children. Say stewed Peras, figs, or prunes, and a cupful of milk or
coffee.
Cheese is a good and nourishing food for cold weather, perhaps because
it contains so much of that essential oil that we need. Toasted cheese
should never be given to anyone of weak digestion, however, for it is
one of the most difficult of all things to deal with. As an experiment
in the line of "savouries," I would recommend the trial of grated
cheese with a plate of oats; it is by no means to be despised.
A typical menu for January would be the following--
Chestnut Soup.
Fried Lemon Soles.
Ragout of Mutton.
Creamed Potatoes and Jerusalem Artichokes.
Roast Snipe on Toast.
Chelsea Pudding.
Cheese. Butter. Biscuits. Coffee.
_Chestnut Soup._--Boil a pound of chestnuts until they seem tender,
peel off the shell and brown skin; return the white part to the stewpan
and cover with water, add a finely-minced onion, an ounce of butter,
pepper and salt. Let this simmer for an hour or more, then rub all
carefully through a sieve, add a pint or rather more of boiling milk
and a dessertspoonful of cornflour previously mixed smooth with cold
water, and stir this again over the fire until it boils. Serve fried
croutons with this soup.
_Lemon Soles_ should be filleted before frying them, and they should
be dipped in beaten egg and fresh crumbs of bread and sprinkled with
seasoning. Fry them to a golden brown in boiling lard or beef dripping,
squeeze a little lemon juice over them and serve garnished with fried
parsley.
_Ragout of Mutton._--A piece of the middle neck, or the shank half
of the shoulder, the meat taken from the bones and trimmed into neat
pieces, is the best for this. Flour each piece lightly, lay in a
stewpan with thinly-sliced onions, sliced turnip, a few sprigs of
savoury herbs and seasoning. Pour over all a teacupful of water and
cover tightly. Let this simmer in a corner of the oven for about two
hours, and then arrange the meat on a dish, add a spoonful of mushroom
ketchup to the gravy, with more water if it seems too thick, and pour
over the meat.
Mash the potatoes and beat them up with milk till like thick cream;
pile this up in a buttered pie-dish, and put the dish into a quick
oven to brown the surface.
Mash the artichokes also and press them into a shallow dish, sprinkling
breadcrumbs over the top and a bit of butter, and brown these also.
_Snipe_ require a very quick hot oven for their roasting, and about
fifteen minutes is long enough to allow. Place them on a strip of crisp
toast, and some tiny frizzles of bacon with them, and sprinkle fried
crumbs over. No sauce will be needed.
_Chelsea Pudding._--Shred and chop very finely two ounces of suet, add
to four ounces of flour into which a teaspoonful of baking powder has
been rubbed, also a pinch of salt and two ounces of castor sugar, the
grated rind of a fresh lemon or a pinch of spice, mix well, and make
into a soft dough with a beaten egg and a teacupful of milk. Grease a
shaped pudding-basin and sprinkle the inside with brown sugar, pour in
the pudding-mixture and bake until it has risen well and is of a rich
brown colour.
The sauce for this pudding is made by placing half-a-pound pot of plum
or currant jam in a saucepan, with a few lumps of sugar and an equal
amount of water. Let this boil for a little while, then strain it
through a tamis and pour over and around the pudding when that has been
turned out.
Suitable dishes for the dinner-table in cold weather are the following:
Beefsteak pudding, Irish stew, stewed steak, sea pie, camp pie, haricot
mutton, liver and bacon, etc.--very homely dishes, it is true, but good
and nourishing for all that.
Avoid having large joints that would leave much cold meat on hand in
cold weather. Not many families care much about cold meat when the
thermometer is near freezing point, and twice-cooked meat is not nearly
so nourishing as fresh, however savoury it may be made.
OUR PUZZLE POEM REPORT: A PUZZLE-SOLVER.
SOLUTION.
A PUZZLE-SOLVER.
1. There once was a maiden who tried
To find a new fall for her pride,
By attempting to solve,
Without earnest resolve,
The puzzle we monthly provide.
2. Ignoring the fanciful guile
With which we these efforts compile,
Her attempt was slap-dash,
And was fated to clash
With all proper notions of style.
3. So, finding her failure complete,
She fell at the Editor's feet--
Metaphorically--
And acknowledged that she
Was cured of her latest conceit.
PRIZE WINNERS.
_Seven Shillings and Sixpence Each._
Josephine Burne, 5, Howbeck Road, Oxton, Birkenhead.
Constance Daphne, Alresford, Hants.
Dorothy Fulford, 49, Bateman Street, Cambridge.
Sophie C. Funnell, 25, Clarendon Place, Leeds.
Winifred A. Lockyear, Willow Grove, Beverley.
Miss A. A. L. Shave, 6, Craufurd Rise, Maidenhead.
Violet Shoberl, Hookwood, Edge Hill, Wimbledon.
Helen Simpson, 32, Brighton Place, Aberdeen.
_Five Shillings Each._
Miss A. Kilburn, Penkridge, Staffs.
Agnes McConnell, Ballycarry, Belfast.
Lucy Richardson, 2, Bootham Terrace, York.
S. Southall, South Bank, Worcester.
Mrs. C. E. Warren, Ashantee Villa, Norwich Road, Ipswich.
W. Fitzjames White, 9, Kinfauns Terrace, Low Fell, Gateshead.
Miss Wilkins, Westcroft, Trowbridge, Wilts.
Rev. H. Addams Williams, Llangibby Rectory, Newport, Mon.
_Equal with First-Prize Winners._
Mrs. J. Cumming, Edith E. Grundy, E. St. G. Hodson, E. Lord, M.
Theodora Moxon, A. C. Sharp, Ellen C. Tarrant.
_Equal with Second-Prize Winners._
Eliza Acworth, Lily Belling, F. M. Morgan, E. R. Oliver, Isabel Snell,
G. S. Wilkins.
_Most Highly Commended._
Ethel B. Angear, Florence M. Angear, Elsie I. Bale, Elsie Bayley,
Mabel Brownlow, M. J. Champneys, Helen M. Coulthard, Rose D. Davis,
E. H. Duncan, E. Ross Duffield, Dorothy V. Foley, A. Goakes, Mrs. W.
H. Gotch, Alice L. Hewlett, M. Hodgkinson, G. D. Honeyburne, F. W.
Hunt, Alice E. Johnson, Elizabeth A. Lord, Rev. C. T. McCready, Ethel
O. McMaster, Benjamin Marcroft, Isabella M. Maxwell, Mrs. Nichols,
Margaret G. Oliver, Gertrude Pegler, A. Pentelow, A. T. Porter,
Constance M. Reade, Annie Roberson, Winifred H. Roberts, Kate Robinson,
J. C. Scott, Lucy Shattock, James J. Slade, Gertrude Smith, Ethel
Tomlinson, Etheldreda, M. Viner, Emily Wilkinson, Henry Wilkinson.
_Very Highly Commended._
Edith K. Baxter, Elsie Benians, Rev. F. Townshend Chamberlain, Maud
Chinn, Leonard Clark, Leila Claxton, Nina E. Coote, H. Cope, Vera
F. Cremer, Mrs. Crossman, E. G. Dalton, Eva M. Edwards, William H.
Edwards, Beatrice Fitzhugh, Marjorie A. Forbes, Edith A. Freeman,
Will L. Freeman, Mabel Frewen, Ada J. Graves, Florence Graves, F. S.
A. Graves, C. B. C. Hancock, Eleanor Hearsey, Julia A. Hennen, Percy
E. Herrick, A. Hughes, W. R. Hughes, Minnie Ives, Annette E. Jackson,
Gertrude J. Jones, D. Langley, Clara E. Law, B. M. Linington, Fred
Lindley, M. Dorothy Long, Florence Lush, Winifred M. Macallister, C.
Y. MacGibbon, Nellie Meikle, Nellie Minchener, Blanche A. Moody, Mrs.
C. F. Morton, Charles Martin Morris, May Morris, Charles Nunneley,
jun., G. de Courcy Peach, L. Pentelow, Ada Mavee Pleasance, Jessie C.
Poole, Alexandrina A. Robertson, Dora O. Robinson, Elizabeth Russell,
Mary Sheriff, A. J. Selwood, Kate C. Sinclair, Clara Souter, William
Stradling, Margaret B. Strathorn, Mollie B. Taylor, Muriel Thompson,
Lilian S. Toller, Aileen M. Tyler, Katie Whitmore, Helena M. Wilson,
Alice Woodhead, Emily C. Woodward.
EXAMINERS' REPORT.
Once again we have been unable to satisfy every claimant for a prize,
and in order to reduce the list to manageable limits we have been
obliged to exclude all solvers who have been enriched during the last
year.
As for mentions, space forbids us to indulge in anything less
honourable than "very highly commended," and even that has been much
more deserved than usual.
Concerning the special difficulties we need only refer to the
mysterious M in line 1 and to the adjective in line 6. It was rare
indeed for any solver who surmounted both those to fail elsewhere. The
first stands for "maiden" in cricket parlance, being the manner in
which a "maiden" over is recorded on the score sheet. It is not the
first time in which the device has been employed in these puzzles, and
yet it was interpreted in no less than twenty-six different ways.
The second difficulty is not so easily disposed of, as several
adjectives equally well describe the fanciful G. But few of them are
really appropriate as qualifying "guile," and to select the right one
severely tested the solver's ability.
For instance, "flowery" describes the G exactly but is not at all a
happy qualification of guile. We think that "fanciful" is, on the
whole, the best word for the double duty, but we have also accepted
"beautiful," "wonderful" and "exquisite." "Picturesque" would have been
good but for the necessary transference of the accent from the last to
the first syllable.
We observe with great pleasure the much larger number of solutions
giving the form of the verse correctly. Failure in this respect in this
puzzle marks the difference between the solutions most highly and very
highly commended.
As to punctuation, actual mistakes had to be counted, and we found two
of a glaring character in several papers, namely a comma after tried
and after clash! Let no one say in regard to such errors that they are
matters of opinion.
Many solvers still persist in ignoring the title, and others will write
their names at the foot instead of at the head of their solutions. But
on the whole the difference in carefulness between the solutions we
now receive and those of three years ago is amazing. So much for the
educational value of Our Puzzle Poems.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.
GIRLS' EMPLOYMENTS.
EMIGRATION.--"_In which part of South Africa should I have the best
prospect of obtaining employment as a useful help? Owing to a delicacy
of the chest, I have been advised to seek a dry climate._"--CHRISTINE.
Domestic servants, _pace_ the latest report from the Emigrants'
Information Office, are in less demand in South Africa than in Canada
and Australasia. At the same time active girls, who are willing to
rough it and to work hard, can usually obtain respectable situations
with good wages. South Africa, however, is a large tract of country,
and it may be of value to "Christine" if we quote some passages from
an interesting letter which we have recently received from Miss
Plunkett, who has lived for some time at Johannesburg. Miss Plunkett
writes:--"Personally I cannot advise young women to go to Johannesburg;
salaries are much lower; situations are scarce, and there are many
other reasons why they should avoid the Transvaal altogether. British
possessions are certainly to be preferred. Young women intending
to go out to South Africa ought to procure reliable facts from the
Agent-General of Cape Colony or Natal, or the United British Women's
Emigration Association, Imperial Institute, South Kensington, who can
extend information and advice on Rhodesia also." Miss Plunkett (to whom
we tender our thanks for this helpful letter) adds the information that
the Women's Residential Home, to which we referred some months ago, is
now at 91, Bree Street, Johannesburg, and has passed under the care of
Mrs. Matthews.
NURSING.--_I am anxious to become a trained nurse, but I could not pay
a premium. I have been engaged for four years as a children's nurse. I
am twenty-three, and have no home._--S. E. C.
Under the circumstances "S. E. C." mentions, we think she might find it
difficult to be taken as a probationer into one of those hospitals to
which a recognised training-school is attached, while if she entered
certain others which might be eager to have her, the drawback would
be that in middle life she would be thrown out of this kind of work
because no hospital would appoint to a paid post a nurse who was not,
in the technical sense, "fully trained."
On the other hand, there is a great demand at the present time for what
are known as "Cottage Nurses," and few women come forward to fill these
posts. A cottage nurse is one who nurses the poor of a rural district
in their own homes, sleeping and living under the cottager's roof
during the period of illness, and helping to keep the house in order
in those cases where the patient is the cottager's wife. The salary,
usually £25 to £30, is paid to the nurse by an association or a local
committee. If "S. E. C." cared to consider this suggestion further, she
must write to the Hon. Secretary of the Holt-Ockley Association, Mrs.
Hervey Lee Steere, the Cottage, Ockley, asking whether the association
would be willing to have her trained for this work. There are other
similar associations--one, for instance, is the Mid-Oxon Association,
in which the Countess of Jersey is much interested, and another has
lately been established under the best auspices in Norfolk.
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.
MEDICAL.
KATHIE, JANET, TULIP, G. P., ELLA BURNS AND FOUR OTHER
CORRESPONDENTS.--Here are nine correspondents asking the oft-asked
question--how to cure blushing and nervousness. We gave a very long
answer on this same subject a few weeks ago, but to fully discuss this
most complicated subject is quite beyond the scope of the "Answers to
Correspondents." We will soon publish an article dealing fully with the
matter. We will therefore defer answering your questions until you have
read that article. Before that paper appears read the advice that we
gave before.
JOSEPHINE.--Yes, your nose is the seat of your trouble. You have a
chronic catarrh of the nose. The slightest aggravation of this brings
on acute catarrh or "cold in the head." Wash out your nose with the
following wash three times a day:--bicarbonate of soda, twenty grains;
glycerine of carbolic acid, five drops, water to the ounce. Use the
solution warm and wash out your nose very thoroughly. After you have
washed out your nose, spray the nose well out with a solution of
menthol in paraleine (1 in 8) with an atomiser.
DORA RUSSELL.--In most cases of the kind bicycling does good rather
than harm. It is, however, quite impossible for us to give a definite
opinion with nothing but the scanty information contained in your
letter to go upon. We think, however, that bicycling would do your
daughter good.
R. M.--What do you mean by "X-shaped legs"? Do you mean "knock-knees"?
Or do you mean that your legs cross each other? We cannot answer this
question without further details. If your "X-legs" are "knock-knees," a
half an hour's very gentle gymnastic exercise every day would improve
your legs and strengthen your back. Any exercise in which you indulge
must be gentle. Violent exercises only do harm.
AN UNLUCKY GIRL.--You are indeed an unlucky girl and we deeply
sympathise with you in your misfortune. If you can go to a good skin
specialist we think that it would be worth your while to do so. The
best thing for you to do is to tell your physician that you wish to see
a specialist about any possible treatment different from what you have
already tried. We suppose that it is hardly necessary to tell you to be
sure to go to a respectable qualified specialist. There are some men
in England who call themselves "skin specialists" who are unqualified.
To fall into the hands of one of these might be your ruin. Of course
you know as well as we do that lupus is a very serious disease, and
that though in itself it is not very dangerous to life, it is very
disfiguring and most refractory to treatment. Personally we are of the
same opinion as your family doctor regarding the treatment of lupus by
Kock's tuberculin. That you derived no benefit from the X-ray exposure
is in no way surprising to us. Of course you are not getting too old to
be one of our girls. "Our girls" are of all ages from four to fourscore.
FRECKLES.--1. Your headaches are almost certainly due to the condition
of your eyes. Probably you have got a small error of refraction.
The error would not be noticed until the eyes were tired with work.
Headache is very often due to untreated errors of the eyes. We advise
you to have your eyes seen to at once.--2. We hope to publish an
article on blushing shortly. We have already frequently discussed the
various causes of blushing and nervousness in this column. It is,
however, too complex a subject for us to deal with effectually in the
form of an "Answer."
L. AND E.--The curious symptom which you two suffer from may be due to
anæmia or indigestion. But in all probability it is nervous in origin.
It is obviously the reverse of blushing, and blushing is usually due to
"nerves." So we suppose that your symptom is likewise due to the same
cause.
ERONICA.--When you had anæmia, did you suffer from indigestion? The
symptoms which you describe are very likely to be due to indigestion.
They may, however, be due simply to muscular weakness. You should read
the articles on indigestion which we published in last year's volume of
THE GIRL'S OWN PAPER. Gently rubbing your side with camphor liniment
will ease the pain.
ZERIBOS RAPRAUD.--It is a ridiculous myth that "little moustaches and
bad writing" are signs of intelligence. Where did you discover this
remark? There are people who say that they can read the character of a
person from her handwriting. We do not pretend to possess such a power,
nor do we advise you to consult anyone who says that he does possess it.
LANCASHIRE LASS.--It is a very widespread superstition that the seventh
son of a seventh son possesses healing powers from his birth. In
Lancashire the belief in this superstition is very general. There was
a case in the paper the other day about a "doctor" of this kind. We
cannot do better than echo the words of the physician who was employed
in the case, to examine the "doctor's" mind, that "the superstition is
not held by members of our profession."
STUDY AND STUDIO.
ELSPETH.--You will see your question answered in our September part.
The quotation--
"Ships that pass in the night, etc.,"
is from _Tales of a Wayside Inn_, by Longfellow, Third Evening,
Theologian's Second Tale, _Elizabeth_, Part IV. Many thanks for your
pleasant letter.
MONEY SPINNER.--When you "meet a bishop in society, but do not know
him very well," you should perhaps once in the course of the interview
address him as "my lord."
JENNIE.--1. We do not know of any French paper that would find you a
girl correspondent. You had better send us your name and address, as
our other readers have done, and no doubt some French correspondent
will observe it.--2. We can only suggest that you should ask all your
friends and acquaintances to save you any crests they may come across
in the way of correspondence.
AMY.--Your verses, while they show devout feeling, cannot receive much
commendation from a poetical point of view.
"As at the close of day the trials and care"
is a halting line, "trials" being a dissyllable. We prefer your prose
sketch, which is pathetic, yet we think "Granny" was a little selfish
in preventing her son from being a sailor. With practice and study you
might possibly write stories that would be "fit to publish." One defect
in "Granny's Hero" is the mode of beginning the story--a sort of double
introduction. "We were talking of heroes (not heros) to-night," and
again, "We were sitting in the gloaming one dull winter's evening." The
first two paragraphs should be omitted.
HAHA.--Your story is immature. You show a certain amount of intensity
and passion, but it is ill-regulated; you "strike twelve all at once,"
as the saying is, by rushing immediately into violent emotions into
which you cannot carry your readers with you, because you have not
shown any cause, or prepared them for such a climax. You evidently have
a keen eye for natural beauty, but you need to curb the exuberance of
your descriptions. "Old Sol" is not a satisfactory expression. Read all
the good prose and poetry you can, and try to "form" a style.
M. S. W.--Your verses are superior to the average of those we receive
for criticism, yet we can hardly say they are sufficiently good for you
to expect payment for them. You could offer "Donald's Away" to another
magazine, if you have not sold the copyright; but you would be obliged
to tell the editor it had already appeared elsewhere, and this would
prove a drawback. "Long ago," and the two verses you enclose, are very
creditable work, and it is possible, of course, that you might receive
remuneration for them; but it is very difficult thus to dispose of
"magazine verse," the supply being large and the competition keen.
PURPLE HEATHER.--We are afraid we must reiterate to you the unpalatable
advice of our last answer. The verses are not bad, but it is very
unlikely that you would ever receive any payment for them. Poetry of
real merit is slow in finding acceptance in the present day. We must
advise you to turn your attention to some more practical way of making
money. There are many occupations besides teaching by which you could
earn something.
ISOBEL.--1. Your poem, "I Long to be There," is not sufficiently
original to be worthy of publication. The chief criticism we should
offer upon it is that we have frequently read hymns expressing the
same sentiment in very similar words. This is not wonderful when the
same idea possesses many Christian hearts, but it would diminish the
value of your composition from any editor's point of view.--2. Do you
wish your poems "published" or "printed"? If you only wanted one copy,
the cost would not exceed a few shillings; but much depends on the
quality of paper, type and binding. Consult the nearest printer of good
business reputation.
EMMA PORTLOCK.--Your verses, considering your circumstances, do you
credit. You should entitle a poem "In Memoriam," or else "Memoria," not
"Memoriam" alone, as it is not grammatically correct. Do not use "thee"
and "you" alternately in addressing the same person.
A. B.--We can never reply "in the next number" of THE GIRL'S OWN
PAPER, as we go to press long before you receive your magazine. We are
sorry to seem generally discouraging, but "Evening" contains nothing
original, nor would it be likely to find a publisher. Poetic genius is
the dower of a very few; but there must be something "fresh" about work
that commands success.
NANNEE.--Your poem "Speculations" is very interesting, though here and
there is a halting line, such as
"Or not till my soul's new birth,"
where the emphasis would have to fall on "till" to make the line scan.
We can tell you, however, that the thought expressed is not commonplace.
MISCELLANEOUS.
LASSIE.--We suppose you mean the "Rose of Jericho," which is a very
curious cruciferous plant which grows in the sandy deserts of Syria,
Arabia, and North Africa, and is remarkable for the hygrometric
properties of its old withered annual stems. When in flower the
branches spread rigidly, but as the seed ripens the leaves begin to
wither and drop off, the branches curl inward, and the plant becomes
coiled up so as to resemble a small ball. In this state it is loosened
from the soil and is drifted about with the sand over the arid plains.
Should rain fall, or should it be blown into the water, the branches
expand, the pods open, the seeds fall out, and it is a remarkable and
newly-discovered fact that in the short space of twenty hours the seeds
germinate and root. The plant will retain its susceptibility for years.
VIOLET HEATHER.--We have read your very interesting letter with
pleasure. We have already given a description of _crétonne_ articles
illustrated, which will be useful to you, and we think you would find
Weldon's needlework series, published monthly at twopence each, most
suggestive and helpful.
A. W.--To preserve your summer eggs for a scarcer time, the following
is a good recipe:--Pour 3 gallons of boiling water on 3 lbs. of
quicklime; when cold, add 1½ oz. of cream of tartar, and 1 lb. and 2
oz. of salt. When quite cold put in the eggs, and be particular not to
move the jar when the eggs have been placed in it.
SUSSEX TRUG.--What you have heard of Lewes having once been a seaport
is true. There was a marshy island called Hamsey in the estuary of the
river Ouse, which entered the sea at Seaford. The great storm of 1570
changed its course permanently, and Newhaven became a port at the new
mouth of the river. At that time, Pevensey and Selsey were islands till
the silting up of beach and sand annexed them to the mainland. Selsey,
by which one island was called, meant seal island; which animals were
once natives of that coast.
DODO.--Your steel buttons could be freed from rust by immersing them
in a strong solution of cyanide of potassium, half an ounce in a
wineglassful of water. Then clean them with a paste composed of the
same stuff mixed with castile soap, whitening and water, till of the
consistency of thick cream. Then rub well with a chamois leather. If
this prove unsuccessful, you will have to send them to a jeweller.
YOUNG MOTHER.--We can give a few general hints so as to distinguish
between the cries of a sick infant and indicate the locality of the
pain. A child often cries because a pin has been left in the clothes.
Always employ "safety-pins," and examine the newly-made clothing for
fear of concealed needles. If suffering from pain in the stomach, the
cries will be continuous and loud, with showers of tears, and it will
draw up the legs. If the pain be in the head, it utters frequent sharp
shrieks, moaning between whiles. If it suffers from inflammation of
the chest, a short, hacking cough will help to indicate the locality
of the pain; it will shed no tears, but will give a short sharp cry
occasionally. If lacking in experience as to the care of infants,
you should have a medical opinion, if the child should appear to be
feverish as well as suffering. Teething pains must also be expected,
and the state of the gums examined. Boys cut the teeth with more
difficulty and danger than girls, as a general rule.
NORA.--Of course it is pleasanter to the feelings of any refined person
to see as little resemblance in the animal food placed on our tables
to the living creatures we see around us. And this feeling is carried
out in the nomenclature we have adopted for meat. The generic term
"meat" is an improvement on "flesh." We owe this refinement to our
Norman ancestors, who employed the terms beef, veal, pork, mutton, and
venison, which are never employed to denote the living animals.
J. THOMPSON.--Your question is one which often arises, and the charge
made by the Railway Company is an illegal one, although it frequently
meets with success, especially where ladies are concerned. I will
repeat your query--"A train runs from A to C; a passenger gets in at
B; can the Company charge the traveller the full fare from A to C?" If
the train is a parliamentary one stopping at B in the ordinary way, the
Company are not entitled to charge the passenger the full fare from A,
because the contract between the passenger and the Company began at B
and ended at C. The Company could, if they pleased, have prevented the
passenger from entering the train at B without a ticket, but having
tacitly waived their right by allowing him on the platform, they cannot
subsequently impose a fine on him by making him pay for the whole
journey. If, however, the train was a special express, or an excursion
train running on special terms with the passengers, they would be in
their rights by making the passenger pay for the full journey, because
the Company only contracted to take the passenger subject to certain
conditions.
* * * * *
Transcriber's note--the following changes have been made to this text:
Page 187: á changed to à.
Page 190: neccessary changed to necessary.